Unfortunately,
thanks to today’s modern “educational” system very
few of us have a good grasp on history. George Santayana said, "Those
who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Is
it just me or does it appear that we are on the precipice of financial
collapse, reminiscent of 1929?

I
remember my mother, a child of the Depression, warning me in the late
1970’s that if we continued on the path we were on we were headed
for another depression. Why is it a midwestern housewife could figure
out what all of the twenty-first century “financial experts”
on Wall Street could not?

Let
me help you out a little. I am not a financial expert, (although I am
good at pinching pennies) but it doesn’t take a degree from Harvard
or a stint as a robber-baron on Wall Street to realize what the real
problem is with our financial system. It is not sub-prime mortgages,
although loaning people money that they cannot repay is not wise financial
business. The culprit is not high-oil prices and our failure to build
new refineries, although worshiping
the creation rather than the creator is never a wise move. It is
not even the lack of “government oversight” -- as if more
layers of lawyers and pencil pushers somehow guarantee honesty.

No,
my friends, the dirty little secret in the American economy is that
our dollar is worthless. You don’t have to be a junior senator
from Illinois to realize that our problems really began in 1913 when
we turned the control of our money over to the
un-constitutional Federal Reserve.

Our
money is controlled by a small cabal of bankers who have succeeded in
ruining the once-powerful dollar. The Constitution is very clear. Article
I Section 8 enumerates that Congress shall have the power “To
coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin,
and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;”

Coin
money…not print it. Coin
meansa piece of metal stamped and issued by the authority of
a government for use as money. We have allowed the Fed to trade
our gold and silver for paper and ink. Come on now, which do you think
is more valuable?

We
are such lemmings.
You see, prices are not going up as much as the value of the dollar
is going down. “Need more money, America? Cool…start
the printer!” Can you say 700 billion? On top of the 600
billion they already spent on the bailout earlier this year.

If
you are like me, you remember the old “Silver
Certificate.” Printed on it were these words “One
dollar in silver payable to the bearer upon demand.”
You could take the dollar bill to the bank and they would give you a
dollar in silver. That is why it was called a “Note.” It
represented something that was owed. One dollar paper bill was equal
to one dollar in silver.

Not
today. In fact, Silver
Dollars are becoming more and more valuable. How can that be? Wouldn’t
you think that a dollar is a dollar, whether it is paper or coin? Sorry,
Charlie. In 1973 America stopped using gold and silver as backing for
the dollar. Remember the jokes about “all of the gold in Ft. Knox?’
Well, no more. Today, the American dollar is backed by nothing but the
integrity of the Federal Government. No wonder we’re in trouble.
Ink and paper aren’t good “hedges against inflation.”

For
years and years most American workers got cost-of-living raises. We
were fooled into thinking that the cost of living was going up because
things cost more. But the ugly truth was, the price of goods were remaining
basically the same, it was the dollar that was becoming worth less every
year as the Fed printed more money backed by nothing.

The
house my parents bought in 1950 for $7000 is worth nearly $150,000 today.
In reality, the house is not worth more, it just takes more of the “Funny
Money” to buy it. Inflation, a direct result of monetary policy,
has robbed the average American.

My
mother never had to work outside the home. My father’s factory
job put four children through college. Today factory jobs have left
America, Mom and Dad both have to work and the only way most are able
to send their children to college is by burdening them with massive
debt….usually from the “government” with interest
paid to the “Fed.” We are the Government.
The government has no money. They get it from us. When you hear “government
bailout” grab hold of your wallet!! The Fed prints more worthless
dollars so they can charge you more interest. They don’t even
have to “pass GO” to collect their $200.

Remember,
“government” means you and me. We are the one’s who
will ultimately pick up the tab…or, more specifically, our children
and grandchildren. Proverbs warns us that “A wise
man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.”
Sadly, we are spending the inheritance. America has been on a generational
spending binge and the bill is finally coming due. Our children will
be the one’s to suffer.

“Follow
the yellow brick road….pay no attention to the man behind the
curtain….was a clear warning of what would happen when loose
monetary policy became the philosophy of the American government. “The
men behind the curtain” are controlling all of our lives. Those
who forget the past…..

Who
elected Henry Paulson? Who elected Ben Bernanke and Alan Greenspan?
Where did the Fed get the power to print Monopoly
Money?

The
“men behind the curtain” have us focusing on McCain and
Obama but they are running a bootleg. Let us never forget that it was
the House of Representatives that turned down the bailout plan. They
call it “The People’s House” because it is the legislative
body that is closest to the People. Phone calls still work. We must
focus on gaining more influence where the power is closest. We can regain
control by “throwing the bums out” of the House, not by
changing Wizards. If your Representative voted for a bailout, (s)he
obviously is Constitutionally illiterate and has no business serving.
Run yourself or find a neighbor who cares enough to understand what
it means to serve the People.

The
“People” flooded the phones. The curtain-dancers were turned
back. At least for now. This
guy gets it.

Back
to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. L. Frank Baum wrote this spoof
on the late 1890’s attempt to reform America’s monetary
policy. Even back then the “bankers” were attempting to
take the American dollar off of the gold standard. Baum wrote “Oz”
to expose the forces conspiring to gain control of the economy.

“Oz
is short for ounce, the measure for gold and silver.

Dorothy,
hailing from Kansas, represents the commoner.

The
Tin Woodsman is the industrial worker, rusted solid as the factories
shut down in the 1893 depression. The Scarecrow is the farmer who apparently
doesn’t have the wit to understand his situation or his political
interests. The Cowardly Lion is William Jennings Bryan; (Ron Paul) who
had a loud roar but little political power as he fought the political
powers of his day.

The
Good Witches represent the magical potential of the people of the Midwest
and the South (red states).

After
vanquishing the Wicked Witch of the East (the Eastern bankers) Dorothy
frees The Munchkins (the little people). With the witch's silver slippers
(the silver standard), (they change to ruby red in the movie) Dorothy
sets out on the Yellow Brick Road (the gold standard) to the Emerald
City (Washington), where they meet the Wizard (the President), who appears
powerful, but is ultimately revealed as an illusion; the real Wizard
being just a little man who pulls levers behind a curtain” (printing
presses).

“Pay
no attention to the man behind the curtain…” We must once
again come to the realization that WE hold all of the power. The Scarecrow,
the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion are us.

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The
Scarecrow was looking for a brain, all of the time convinced he needed
“experts” to think for him. The Tin Man was looking for
a heart, feeling he needed the “great and powerful Oz” to
restore his broken spirit through government handouts. And the Cowardly
Lion needed only the courage to fight.

Coach Dave Daubenmire, founder and President
of Pass The Salt Ministries www.ptsalt.com
and Minutemen United www.minutemenunited.org,
is host of the high octane Pass The Salt radio show heard in Columbus,
Ohio.

In 1999 Coach Daubenmire was sued by the ACLU
for praying with his teams while coaching high school in Ohio. He now
spends his energy fighting for Christian principles in the public domain.

The
Scarecrow was looking for a brain, all of the time convinced he needed
“experts” to think for him. The Tin Man was looking for a
heart, feeling he needed the “great and powerful Oz” to restore
his broken spirit through government handouts. And the Cowardly Lion needed
only the courage to fight.